The present invention relates to a conveyor belt cleaning arrangement and more particularly, to a conveyor belt cleaning arrangement for effectively removing residue and extraneous matter from and as may be attached or adhered to, a conveyor belt--for example, the return run of a conveyor belt.
Conveyor belts arc used in many industries, such as, for example, mining and manufacturing, and during use have extraneous matter attached or adhered thereto. Thus, it is known to provide cleaning arrangements such as scrapers, which usually operate in association with the return runs of such conveyors, to remove or at least substantially minimize the presence of, excess matter or residue which has been adhered to or become attached to the conveyor belt. Many known cleaning arrangements for conveyor belts include scraping portions or tips which are mounted relative to the return run of a conveyor belt (usually below the return run and extending substantially transversely relative to the longitudinal axis of the conveyor belt) so that the tip will come into contact with the return run of the conveyor belt and thereby remove extraneous matter or residue.
One such arrangement is known from Australian patent specification No. 449,142. A further arrangement is known from our Australian patent specification No. 615,383, which combines the use of a spray with a scraper means, to remove excess or extraneous matter from the return run of a conveyor belt.
In many arrangements known and used up until this time, the cleaning head or tip of the cleaning arrangement has been formed of a metal material and has had a hard wearing metal tip (such as, for example, a tungsten tip) attached thereto. It has previously been found that this is effective in removing excess or extraneous matter from a conveyor belt. In such arrangements it is usual for the cleaning arrangement to be mounted below the return run of a conveyor belt and/or relative to the head/pulley end of a conveyor, and for the metal tips to be mounted on a transversely extending metal plate which in turn is usually mounted to spaced apart metal uprights or arms. However, in order for the cleaning heads or tips to follow the contours of a travelling conveyor belt, it is necessary to give the cleaning arrangements a degree of resilience in all directions. Further, it is necessary for the arrangements to have such resilience given that the cleaning heads or tips can come into contact with hard matter adhered to the belts, which will cause shocks or stresses to be applied to the cleaning arrangements. Thus, in some known arrangements such metal supporting arms are mounted to resilient pads which thereby impart a degree of resilience and flexibility to the cleaning arrangements when they come into contact with extraneous matter and the like, and which also allow for stresses and/or tension to be absorbed (at least to a certain extent) and/or dissipated.
In other known arrangements springs are used in association with the metal support arms and metal cleaning heads, to impart resilience and flexibility thereto.
Such know arrangements have however caused many problems. For example, many conveyor belts have sections which are spliced together with metal splicing. Thus, when the metal tips of the cleaning arrangement come into contact with such splicing, this can cause problems and catching between the splicing and the metal cleaning tips. Further, if there is a catch between these components, or if the metal cleaning tips come into contact with some apparently immovable matter adhered to the belt, the metal tips do not have sufficient flexibility or resilience, and the metal arms to which they are attached will often become bent. This in turn can cause the bent arms and bent tip to engage with the belt such as to tear or rip the belt material. This often causes substantial problems and expense, in so far as equipment replacement is concerned and in so far as operational "down-time" is concerned.
It is also know to provide a conveyor cleaning arrangement which is fixedly mounted below a conveyor belt, and which has an elongate arm into which is slidably engaged a plastics cleaning member of a unitary formation, having a cleaning head portion at an upper end thereof, and the lower end of which slidably engages within a mounting shaft extending below the return run of a conveyor belt. Such an arrangement has an elongate bore extending therethrough, supposedly to impart resilience to the cleaning arrangement. However, this unitary cleaning arrangement has not been found to be successful. Generally speaking, it has insufficient resilience and flexibility.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to go at least some way towards overcoming or at least minimizing the problems outlined above.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a straightforward and efficient cleaning arrangement for use with conveyor belts.
Other objects of this invention will become apparent from the following description.